© Provided by Liberation
Capture of Olivier Dubois’ video.
It is a proof of life that reassures and relieves, as much as it underlines his too long absence and the necessary mobilization to obtain his release. In an undated video of just over a minute, which has reached his relatives in recent days, the correspondent of Release in Mali, Olivier Dubois, hostage of a jihadist group for more than eleven months, therefore appears to be alive. And, at first glance, healthy.
“My name is Olivier Dubois. I was abducted on April 8, 2021 in Gao, by the Support Group for Islam and Muslims. This message is addressed to my family, my loved ones and to my government,” says our colleague first, in a calm and confident voice, staring at the lens that is filming him.
“To my family, thank you for all your radio messages. Every month, they are a breath of fresh air and hope.adds Olivier, thus confirming, as was the case in the past for other hostages held in the Sahel, that he received messages and echoes of the mobilization for him, undoubtedly through Radio France internationale who, at regular intervals, broadcasts messages from his relatives.
The 47-year-old journalist, the only known French hostage in the world, then speaks directly to his partner, Deborah, to his children, his father, his mother and his sisters, then “to all those who, directly or indirectly, work for [s]liberation”. “Please keep doing it”, he adds.
Finally, in the last seconds of the video, Olivier Dubois, a freelance journalist who worked, in addition to Releasefor point and Young Africais addressed to the French authorities: “To my government, I ask to continue to do its best to work for my release. I am aware that my case is a small thing in the face of the challenges and events it faces. But yesterday like today, I continue to keep hope.concludes our colleague.
This is not THE hoped-for news, that of his release. But our colleague Olivier Dubois is alive and he has received messages, echoes of the mobilization for him. The video is undated, but it’s the first evidence of life in a long time. #FreeOlivierDubois https://t.co/9ZxnzEalKa
– Sonia Delesalle-Stolper (@soniastolper) March 13, 2022
Petition and mobilization
The release of this video, which may be around a month old, shows “that the kidnappers wish to advance the negotiationsanalyzes a former French hostage, very good connoisseur of the file. So long after his capture, it was high time. But hostage negotiations in the Sahel have a reputation for being excruciatingly slow.”
On April 8, two days before the first round of the French presidential election, it will be a year since Olivier Dubois has been detained by the Support Group for Islam and Muslims, Support for Islam and Muslims (Jnim by the Arabic acronym), a coalition affiliated with Al-Qaeda, responsible for most of the kidnappings in the region. Including the French Sophie Pétronin, kidnapped in the same city of Gao, and released in October 2020 after nearly four years in captivity.
To speed up negotiations and prevent the journalist from falling into oblivion, relatives of Olivier Dubois started a petition at the end of 2021. More than 55,000 signatories, including Release, have already initialed this text «exhort[ant] heads of state [français et malien] to ensure that Olivier becomes the priority of these two States and to obtain his release”. Last week, in Paris, a rally took place in front of the Pantheonon which Olivier’s face was projected. “It is about the fate of a man, the freedom of the press”, declared on this occasion the Secretary General of Reporters Without Borders, Christophe Deloire.
At the beginning of January, during his greetings to the press, the French president had come out of the silence that the entire state apparatus is compelled to observe, officially so as not to hinder the negotiations. “We do not forget Olivier Dubois. Tireless work is carried out by our diplomatic teams, our military and the competent services. You know my very great reserve to give more details, but I want you to be sure that we are fully mobilized to work for his release.had then assured Emmanuel Macron.